OUTROS HORIZONTES

Samuel Cadima from Portugal is relatively a new comer to the Progressive Electronic genre. He released his first album in 2017, and early on in 2019, released this, his 2nd album, "Outros Horizontes". He plays all of the instruments on this album, and it isn't completely electronic as he is credited with guitars, bass, mandolin, percussion, recorder and so on along with all of the keyboards. Talk about multi-talented. But how does this album stack up with the endless list of electronica artists out there? Well, that's what I am hoping to find out. The music is based on a sci-fi story, but since that story was not shared by the artist, he says that it is all open to the listener's interpretation. There are 4 tracks, 3 of which are just over 11 minutes each and one at just over 5 minutes.

The Berlin School style is evident from the very first track "De Partida No Teleporto". Starting with an electronic synth pattern, other synth layers start to get added in. The foundation is a repeating staccato pattern, and the melodic layer is more sustained notes. Soon other layers join, a low electronic bass sound playing the same note quickly, the jangling guitar joins the layers and other effects. The style is Krautrock in that everything is built off of a single key. The chiming guitar layers help drive the track forward in a melodic way and all of the other layers add some great atmosphere. Later, after the 8 minute mark, things become almost celestial-like in sound with a very nice sound and then this goes away as the basic foundation continues and the sound gets bent, slowing things down and changing the key and becoming trance-like.

"Refugio" starts with an airy sound and a high pitched tuning noise in the distant background. The sound of a box of matches and the striking of the match is heard. Then a mid-tempo arpeggio comes from a synthesizer that sounds almost music-box like, not quite though and this turns into a melody of sorts while bass and guitar are added, and the sound remains bright, but the overall feel is dark. There are some cool spacey effects, then a fast foundation is built from a lower synth starting a new melody. There is a nice effect in the music that makes the sound just a little off, almost sounding warped down a microtone or two. It is an interesting effect. This soon breaks down and there are more spacey effects. A synth brings in some sustained chords and there is a definite dark feeling in the music now as it plays along slowly. Things turn ambient, but then a completely new beat comes in along with a nice electric guitar solo surrounded by retro-sounding keyboard accompaniment.

"Montanha de Nuvens" is the shorter track on the album. It starts with a surprising acoustic guitar playing alone. There might be a slight processed sound along with it, but it's still quite nice. An organ is brought in along with a tambourine. Later, it becomes evident that the acoustic guitar is passed through a manipulation as the sound becomes slightly bent. Out of nowhere, a recorder sneaks up on you increasing the organic sound of the track. At 3 minutes, it suddenly becomes a heavier and darker track as an electric guitar is brought sounding similar to stoner rock.

The title track "Outros Horizontes" is much more experimental as it starts out with eerie effects and a deep drone. This continues on for some time with nice effects going on and a percussive effect in the background. Things move slowly as the music slowly crescendos, almost like a sun slowly rising on the horizon. There is no melody, per se, just a metallic effect changing tones and later, an arpegiatted synth. The percussion ends around the 6 minute mark and there is a sudden increase in activity with spacey effects swirling around the drone that continues to change dynamically. Soon, you are left with only the synth-generated drone and it increases in loudness as layers break free and then join back into the drone.

There is a surprising amount of variety in these 4 tracks, from Krautrock, to classical rock to experimental. I love the fact that Cadima is not limiting himself to one style, but explores many sub-genres. The fact that he adds in real instruments also help with the overall sound. In the end, I am very impressed with the sounds here, it never really becomes boring at any point, as you become immersed in the music and go on a journey in your own mind, aided by this album. There is a lot of territory covered in these four tracks, but don't worry, the sound is also very cohesive.